Fishing Rum Lake in Cook County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Rum Lake falls in Cook County, part of Minnesota. The ground round it is rolling bush. Surface area is around 47 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. With about 1.3 miles of edge, you can try several depths in one session. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Minnesota listings. The nearest town is Grand Marais, 16 miles away. Thunder Bay sits 63 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Rum Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Public occurrence data for Cook County names white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. The county list is broader than any single water. Rum Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 63°F in July and bottoms out near 5°F in January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Rum Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is a toilet block some half a mile out. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Failing this one, try Slough Lake, 0.6 miles away. Nothing on Rum Lake should be assumed from this page alone.